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The Federal Correctional Institution Danbury is
a federalprison for women (formerly for men) in the United States. It
is located near the city of Danbury in Fairfield County, Connecticut,
70 miles (110 km) from New York City and 3 miles
(4.8 km) north of Danbury. This prison was known popularly as
a "country club" prison , especially among mobsters who were sent
here.

Danbury Federal Prison CAMP is located up the "hill" from the
Federal Correctional Institution and does not have a fence
surrounding it. There are between two and three hundred female
inmates who may serve between one year and ten years for white
collar/nonviolent crimes such as wire fraud, bank fraud, credit
card fraud, mail fraud and drug/traffic conspiracy convictions. At
any given time there are one or two guards on duty at the camp and
several administrative staff during the day. There are several four
to six (wo)man rooms and three (A, B & C) open dorms with bunk
beds on site. Each prisoner is assigned a job paying between 18
cents and 1 dollar an hour doing everything from cleaning bathrooms
as an "orderly" to working in the warehouse. An inmate is also
assigned to drive departing inmates in a BOP car to the bus station
in Danbury. There is also a, "Puppy Program" where inmates may
apply to train puppies that go on to be EOD Sniffing Dogs. Classes
such as Spanish and Accounting are also offered depending upon the
inmates who teach them. Church services are offered for Catholic,
Protestant, Muslim and Wiccan women throughout the week.

The uniform consists of a khaki button up top, khaki pants,
white T-Shirt and white socks. After daytime hours you may change
into your sweats or pajamas. Shoes are either steel toes for
warehouse work or tennis shoes purchased from the store such as
Nike, Adidas or Reebok. The mess hall offers breakfast, lunch and
dinner with a full salad bar. Holidays are given special
consideration with Shrimp, Steak, Cornish Hen and pie. For those
who choose to cook food in the microwave, you may purchase most
anything you find in a local grocery store from the prison store.
This also includes cosmetics, hair dye, sweat suits, tennis shoes,
stationary, headphones, stamps and phone minutes. Monies must be
mailed or wired to the Federal Prison Camp and are credited to your
account for which you may access with your Inmate ID Card. This
card also serves as a debit card for which you may purchase yogurt,
pop tarts, soda, pizza, sandwiches and burritos from the vending
machines. There are several televisions set up and mainly divided
by English and Spanish. Some of the inmates do not speak English at
all. In your free time you may attend classes, use the phone, watch
television, have your hair trimmed/blown out, walk on the track,
weight lift or do step aerobics. The track and field resembles that
of The Family Y. A seasonal sunbathing deck is also provided.

The ambience of the FPC is somewhat harmonious due to the
classification of inmates included. Crimes of violence, drugs
(other than conspiracy) and those exceeding 120 months make an
inmate ineligible for "Camp Status." Violence, arguments and
dramatic incidents are few and far between. Having "Camp Status" is
a privilege and will be taken away for infractions as simple as
making a three way call. Such an incident is often detected through
call monitoring and the inmate is placed in the SHU (shOO)/Solitary
Housing Unit which resembles a pet store in which cages are stacked
upon one another. In the SHU you are permitted one hour a day
exercise and a shower twice a week.

Upon arrival to the Camp, one should be financially prepared. A
hygiene gift basket is not available. An initial investment of
three to four hundred dollars is needed to purchase sweats, tennis
shoes, radio, stationary and hygiene items. It is not uncommon to
be paged in the middle of the night to do a shift rotation
shoveling snow. There is no controlled movement so if one wishes,
she may walk outside. In theory one could simply walk away from the
Prison Camp. There are quite a few amenities provided at Danbury
Federal Prison Camp; after all, there is no parole. It is a far cry
from State Prison and with that being said any one who is sent to
Federal Prison will be staying a while.